swamp no more and other stuff

We brought in the big guys this week. A local guy came in with his big equipment and brought some fill. We filled in an artificial swamp that was created years ago when they made the road. The swampiness caused all the trees to die off and left us with a major fire hazard. So, swamp no more.

Also accomplished this week was the last of the hardwood floors and the bathroom. All finished and all fixed. We didn't turn on the water to the bathroom as we'd just have to turn around and drain it right away, but it is ready to go for next spring.

Lastly, we did some small projects, just to fill in some time. We got a great little door knocker in Portugal and I've been dying to get it put on the door. Check out the pic.

Floors - chapter 2

This weekend Bill worked on the hardwood floor upstairs and I worked on the tiling the bathroom and grouting the hall and kitchen.

Actually, I had hoped to grout the bathroom too, but it didn't happen. I had decided to go with a 45 degree angle on the tile pattern, which meant alot more cuts. Of course then there was the issue with the toilet, how to deal with it. All the planning of exactly how to lay out the floor, considering the toilet, plus all those cuts took a heck of a lot longer than I had anticipated. At the end of Saturday, I had only gotten 1/2 of the small bathroom finished. Sunday, I would have to finish the tiling which would mean I couldn't grout it because the adhesive has to cure for 24 hours. And then finally there is that final last tile right behind the toilet. It would require 4 cuts plus a hole for the pipe to come through. Cuts I couldn't do without a wet saw or diamond blade.

The kitchen and hall grouting I finished on Sunday, but there sits the bathroom minus one silly odd shaped tile. I'll take a pic of the bathroom next week when it's finished. Oh please, let it be finished then.

Mornings and evenings

Mornings and evenings are so wonderful at the cottage. My favorite times. Sit on the deck with a cup of coffee or glass of wine and watch the birds and small animals. A mist on the lake, starry skies. Just love it.

Then in between our days are still pretty full with projects, though the pace is definitely more relaxed than previously. This weekends' projects were:

Bill:

• mixing tile adhesive for me,
• closing in the knee wall with cedar planking and
• trimming dead wood etc on the property
  

Mary:

• tile kitchen and hall,
• caulk shower,
• hang cabinet and towel rack in bathroom.
  
  
  

And here's the proof.